Chapter Text
If the sound of the tavern door slamming against the wall didn’t catch the attention of the Mighty Nein, Jester squealing at the top of her lungs definitely did. She twirled over with an armful of something, disrupting a lot of other patrons within the tavern who were starting to eat a late breakfast. Once she was over with her companions, they could see the many pastries that she had been holding as she began to place them down and unwrap them all.
“Happy Eros Day!” Jester shouted, not paying mind to the side-eyeing from the next table over.
Trailing behind her also carrying an armful of pastries was Nott. Caleb raised an eyebrow at the display, now understanding where his companion had disappeared to this morning. Nott wasn’t normally an early riser, and it had certainly waved a red flag in Caleb’s mind when he woke up to find her missing from the room. He didn’t think danger, but it was unusual. He glanced at some of the more dessert items being set out before looking back down at his book.
Beau rolled her eyes but helped unwrap everything. Fjord just cleared his throat, shifting in his seat as he eyed the many other tavern patrons that weren’t so thrilled about the sudden spike in volume. It was late morning by all accounts, but it was still considered courteous to keep your voice down until at least noon. By all means, half of these citizens had only just now woken up to eat.
Fjord’s voice wavered even after clearing his throat. “Um, Jester--?”
“Nott and I bought everyone pastries because it’s a holiday !” Jester’s voice dipped down an octave like it usually did when she was excited. She made quick work of setting all the pastries in a nice display on the table. It was quite a mix of fresh bread, sweet rolls, doughnuts, and a few cupcakes. “There’s no cinnamon, but they had a few honey-glazed rolls that are the best! I taste-tested them to be sure because I only wanted to get the best , of course!”
Nott raised up a finger after she added to the pastry pile. “They’re too sweet in my opinion, but they had this bread that has salt on the top of it? In case anyone else here doesn’t want to rot your teeth.”
Caduceus smiled wide and gentle. “That’s very considerate of you both. They all sound wonderful.”
“Wait.” Beau picked up one of the mentioned honey-glazed rolls and sniffed it. “Eros Day is today?”
Jester gasped. “ Beau! How could you not know? It’s only one of the best holidays of the year!”
“Jester, you do say that about most holidays,” Nott pointed out as she scurried up into a chair.
“That’s because there’s so many good holidays to celebrate.” Jester had her hands on her hips. She shook her head, tsking under her breath in mock reprimand. “I can’t believe you didn’t know.”
“This is a lot, Jester, Nott,” Fjord pointed out, grateful if not a little overwhelmed. It wasn’t as if this was the first time Jester had done a large display for the group, but Fjord was always respectful of it. “Do…? I can throw in some coin to help pay for it.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, Fjord.” Jester leaned down to throw her arms around his neck. It caught Caleb’s attention, although no one notice him stop reading to peer up at them.
Jester showed casual, physical affection with all of them on a regular basis, but Fjord remained thrown by it. His face warmed as his shoulders tensed up. Jester just giggled. “These are gifts. You’re supposed to give gifts to the people you love . It’s tradition.”
Caleb’s stomach turned. He swallowed against the sudden dryness in his throat. His eyes darted back down to his book before muttering, “It’s modern tradition, yes.”
Beau scowled, looking over to him now. “Caleb--.”
Jester interrupted her with a gasp. “Ohhh! Caleb, are you hiding some secret, really cool, and romantic traditions that I don’t know about?”
Caleb could feel that Jester was leaning over him now, casting a small shadow over the pages of his book. He didn’t look up. “It’s a really violent history, ja ? Eros Day, centuries ago, was the annual day that suitors around the kingdom could have gladiatorial fights to prove their worth. The last man standing could ask for the princess’s hand in marriage.”
Jester tilted her head. “That’s silly. What if she was already married? She couldn’t have suitors every year.”
There was a lack of interest in his tone as he trailed off about the nation’s history, “Well, if there was no one to court, men would come to fight for the queen’s love, so to speak. Metaphorically. The one to live would get the queen’s blessing to join the royal army. All of the kingdom would come to watch them all fight to the death. It was a rite of Eros. The highest form of staying true to the religion and to prove one's love--to the Empire, mind you--was to risk and potentially forfeit your life.”
The mirth lessened in Jester’s voice. “That--that’s awful.”
Beau was still scowling. “Way to kill the mood, Caleb.”
Caleb glanced up at Beau and in turn saw Fjord giving him a look out of the corner of his eye. His stomach knotted, and his voice became small. “I cannot change our nation’s history.”
“You can’t change being an asshole either. Hey, Jester.” Beau raised up the bread roll she had already taken a bite out of. “These are amazing. What else is on our agenda today for Eros Day?”
That, however, redirected everyone’s attention. Surprise washed over a lot of the Mighty Nein. Jester’s eyes widened, but Nott spoke up first, skeptical. “You want to celebrate Eros Day?”
Beau locked eyes with all of them, shoulders tensing. “ What? I can’t have a little fun? We were planning on staying in town for a few days anyway. Why? You got plans I don’t know about?”
Fjord gave a small, amused smile. The previous tension that was starting to build had disappeared just as quick. “I think that sounds like a great idea. We could use a little break. There’s no harm in a little gift giving. There’ll probably be a festival going on tonight in town we could visit for an hour or two.”
“And dancing and kissing! ” Jester brightened again. She pursed her lips and made a few dramatic, kissing noises before sliding into the empty chair beside Beau. She turned to Caduceus on the other side of her. “Caduceus, did you ever celebrate Eros Day?”
“Why yes.” Caduceus gave a warm smile as he paused to recollect some memories. “Cooking for your loved ones was a good way to bring everyone together. We would share our favorite memories with each other to show how much we cherish those relationships.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet, Caduceus! We should do that, you guys!”
Nott’s lip curled when she frowned. “Sounds very cheesy.”
“Oh, Nott,” Jester cooed. “Don’t you want to hear what my favorite memory with you is? There’s so many to choose from. I might have to share a couple.”
Nott stared down for a long minute at the salty bread slice she’d torn off for herself. “That… That sounds nice. Okay. I’ll allow it.”
Jester gasped as an idea came to mind. She eyed everyone in the group when she asked, “Wait! What other traditions do you guys do? We should do all of them!”
Beau shot a pointed look to Caleb. “Well…”
“I think we already do Caleb’s tradition.” The soft, subtle voice of Yasha caught everyone’s attention. She had been munching quietly on a ripped of piece of salty bread up until this point. Her voice wavered when she realized all eyes were on her, but she carried on. “We fight for our lives a lot. I… I care about all of you and would die for any of you.”
Caleb felt the tips of his ears burn at the sudden reassurance. “It’s not my tradition. It’s just the origin of Eros Day.” He paused. “Thank you, Yasha. I am very squish, you could say. You being there has indeed saved a lot of us.”
Caduceus grinned. He stepped in, always having a way of pulling the group together to make moments more meaningful than originally thought to be. “And your spells have saved us back. That was very well said, Yasha. I think we have a lot of traditions we could reflect on and share today.”
“Uh… Well,” Fjord was scratching the back of his neck, “we didn’t really celebrate Eros Day specifically back on sea, but we would drink and play games on holidays.”
“See?” Caduceus upturned his hand in gesture. “Now, that sounds like a fun time. We can end our day here. I’ll make tea unless, Jester, you would rather have milk. I know you don’t usually drink alcohol.”
“Tea sounds good, Caduceus. Thank you.”
“Sorry, but I’ll stick to what I know,” Nott rejected and took out her flask at the mention of drink. “No offense.”
Caduceus smiled. “None taken.”
“Okay, so what?” Beau leaned back in her chair, kicking her feet up on the table. Fjord grimaced, eyeing how close her feet were to some of the pastries but said nothing. “We’re going to see if there’s a festival going on in town, uh, dance, and come back here for games and drinking?”
“And share stories,” Nott reminded. “After drinking?”
“Yes!” Jester clapped her hands together. “This is going to be the best Eros Day yet, you guys. Don’t forget we have to give each other gifts too!”
Beau lulled her head back and groaned. “Jester, all of us can’t give everyone a gift. We’d be broke.”
“Um.” Yasha swallowed and stared down at the table, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “We would… Zuella and I always liked flowers, but it was custom in my tribe to give natural gifts. Just… things you found that reminded you of someone. You didn’t spend any money. It was just something you found.”
“Oh.” Beau was looking at Yasha intently before clearing her throat into her fist. Caduceus gave her a knowing look but waited for Beau to continue. She didn’t seem to notice the stare. Beau’s voice dipped down into something less abrasive. “That’s very thoughtful, Yasha. We could do that.”
“It’ll be like a treasure hunt, but like for other people!” Jester grinned, her purple eyes wide with wonder. “I can write everyone’s name down, and we can all pick someone so it’s a surprise and nobody gets left out because that would be pretty shitty.”
“It has to be organic?”
Beau raised an eyebrow at Caleb, who finally piped up, and Jester brightened at his peaked interest. Yasha gave a small shrug and shook her head. “Not necessarily? We were just around nature a lot, you know? You just find something that reminds you of them that’s special. It doesn’t… It doesn’t have to be a plant.”
“I call Caleb.”
Caleb’s head jerked up the second Beau wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him in closer to her. The sudden physical contact made him tense up, but he didn’t make any move to get out of the headlock.
Nott gave Beau a look. “I believe that’s cheating.”
“Yeah, well, Caleb is going to get the stick out of his butt and enjoy the fucking holiday for once or so help me I’m going to break your neck.”
“Noted,” Caleb acknowledged, noncommittal. He gave her a blank look as best he could from this angle but gave it up to make eye contact with his known klepto companion at the table. “Nott, stealing is also breaking the rules of the treasure hunt.”
“I would never.”
Caleb raised an eyebrow at her.
“ What? Why am I the only one who gets a talk? What about Fjord?!” Nott pointed an accusing finger at the half-orc who jerked back in his chair in surprise.
“ Me?!”
“Yes, you! You think you’re so cool with your sweet talking and nice jawline, but I’m onto you!”
“Nott, I’m not gonna--.” Fjord cleared his throat, lowering his voice as he glanced around at some of the other patrons in the tavern that were looking over to their group again. “I’m not gonna steal something.”
Nott hummed in obvious disagreement, giving him a look before taking another shot from her flask. The corner of Caleb’s mouth turned up. Fjord definitely wasn’t one to steal from shopkeeps in town. It was a fairly obvious ruse to the rest of the party that Nott was just trying to deflect blame. Caleb’s eyes lingered on Fjord, the smile slowly slipping off his face before looking back down at his book. He didn’t open it again but busied himself with running a hand over its frayed cover.
Jester ripped a page out of her journal and tore it into pieces to write people’s names on it. She was still chewing on a doughnut she had stuffed halfway into her mouth when she said, “That’s fine, Beau, an’ Nott no steal’n. Ever’one no peeking! I can’t cu’ the pap’rr even.”
--
“Happy Anniversary.”
Astrid stood in front of a full body mirror. Her hair was draped over one shoulder as she dragged a fine-tooth comb through the locks. The clothes she wore were fierce, elegant. The rich green top she wore had a golden trim, neck open wide to reveal her chest and shoulders. The bottom edge of it fanned out loose and free, falling well past her waist. The sunlight pouring through the nearby, open window reflected off her thick, golden chain necklace that she was careful not to get her hair tangled in. The fine, black pants she wore were tucked neatly into her matching black boots that had golden buckles.
She was beautiful, standing unmoved on the pristine, wooden floor like she was exactly where she needed to be. Everything in the room was exactly where it needed to be. The sheer, red curtains weren’t ruffled or dusty, the black furred rug was still fluffy and clean, and the bed sheets were tucked and unwrinkled. Everything was in its place, motionless, prim. The necklace on Astrid’s chest gleamed. The wooden floor shined. Her eyes did not.
Caleb stood in the doorway, fidgeting. He kept adjusting his grip on the flower bouquet he held and shifted his weight back and forth. He didn’t enter the room. Astrid didn’t move and didn’t acknowledge him.
“I should cut my hair,” she said instead.
The room was silent. Caleb ran a hand through his red hair, fussing not for the first time with it today. Stray strands were falling everywhere. He kept trying to comb them back with his fingers but failed. He adjusted the high collar of his shirt as if it were choking him.
He cleared his throat. “Short hair would suit you.”
Astrid stopped combing her hair, stilling and staring at him now through the mirror. “Does long hair suit me?”
Caleb straightened and shifted his weight again under the scrutiny. “I--. Yes, of course it does, Astrid.”
Astrid frowned. She didn’t sigh, but Caleb felt it anyway. “Bren, did you really bring me flowers?”
Caleb’s grip on the flowers tightened. He gulped against the dryness of his throat, words lost on his tongue. Astrid didn’t turn and didn’t look away from the mirror, but she extended a hand out in request. Caleb approached her, not stepping on the rug. Every step against the wood was loud and creaking. He looked down at the array of red, white, and yellow flowers before handing them over. Astrid took them and studied them for a moment. They were close to her chest but didn’t touch her. Her eyes closed as she breathed them in. Breathing them out was the sigh that didn’t make it out before.
“Do you not like them?” Caleb’s voice was solemn.
Astrid raised an eyebrow, turning towards him now. A smirk played on her lips. She reached up to place a hand on Caleb’s face and rubbed her thumb over his cheek. “You really are the star-gazing, puppy-dog lover type.”
Caleb opened his mouth, words stuck in his throat. Astrid patted his face as a smile formed on her lips. She shook her head. “Come on, lover, we’re going to be late to the assembly.”
Caleb smiled back and nodded. “Are you ready?”
“Always.” Astrid pulled Caleb down enough so that she could give him a peck on the cheek.
She placed the flowers on the bed before walking out of the room. They lied there just outside of the sun’s reach, wilting with every passing second.
--
Everyone had scattered through town, going alone, finding each other, leaving again. Everyone had their designated person to find a gift for, and no one wanted to ruin the surprise of what they’d found. Caleb mostly walked by himself, poking into bookshops more than anything. They’d only been back in town for a day, but they’d already restocked on supplies. He didn’t need to buy anymore parchment and ink, but he could spend hours on end in any bookstore. It wasn’t long until Nott caught him.
The little goblin kept her hood tucked tightly over her head and porcelain mask high. She gave a small nod to the half-elf shopkeeper but ducked her head down and quickened her pace through the shop after that. Caleb had been the only customer before her arrival. It wasn’t hard to find him in such a small shop. He was in the middle of thumbing through a book called The Mysteries of Histories when Nott climbed up on a nearby stool.
“Caleb, you’re not allowed to buy yourself a present.”
Caleb raised an eyebrow and shot a quick glance at her. “We’re not supposed to buy presents at all, ja? ”
Nott squinted her eyes. “Did you get your present already?”
Caleb continued to read, distracted. Nott leaned forward so quickly the stool rocked. “Caleb! You didn’t get me a present?!”
“I--.”
“No! No! ” Nott clamped her eyes shut as she kept a tight grip on the edge of the stool. “Don’t spoil who you’re looking for!”
There was a brief pause before Nott peaked open an eye. “But was it me?”
“Nott, that question is contradictory.”
Nott grumbled and readjusted her mask, giving up the ruse. “Well, I’m sure you found the perfect gift.”
Caleb hummed and turned the page. “I don’t know about perfect, but one can only hope the gift I find will be adequate.”
“Right…” Nott’s head snapped up. “Find? Find? Caleb, you didn’t find one yet?! I was just joking before!”
Caleb stiffened. He closed the book and returned it to the shelf. “ Nein. Not yet.”
“You didn’t get me a gift?!”
“Nott, I didn’t get you a gift.”
“...You didn’t get someone else a gift?!”
“ Nein. ”
“Caleb, you have to get a gift!” Nott fell off the chair this time. The stool clattering to the ground with her, but thankfully didn’t knock anything else over.
The half-elf man who had a yellow scarf wrapped tightly around his neck and chin leaned over the counter. He cleared his throat as he stared down the hall at them, but his voice still sounded scratchy from lack of use. “Is everything alright over there?”
Caleb flinched and forced an awkward smile and even more awkward, half wave. “Um, yes. Sorry. We’ll be leaving soon.”
The half-elf paused. “C-Can I help you find anything?”
“No, no . Um, thank you.”
Caleb walked over to where Nott was still lying sprawled out on her back. His scarf and red hair hung down loosely as he leaned over her, a strange look on his face. “Nott, are you quite alright?”
Nott huffed out a sigh but didn’t move. The octave of her voice returned to normal when she asked with a seriousness, “Whose name did you pull?”
Caleb shifted his weight. “It… would spoil the surprise, ja? ”
Nott frowned and pushed herself up onto her elbows. “I know when you’re avoiding my questions.”
Caleb sighed but said nothing.
“Is it Beau? You could probably get her anything. She hates everything equally.”
Caleb smirked, humored in spite of himself. He reached a hand down and helped Nott to her feet. “You’re probably right about that one.”
“It’s not Beau, is it?” Nott stepped closer to Caleb to clutch his coat. Personal space was never a problem when it came to the two of them. It was particularly present when one or the other knew something was wrong.
“No, it’s not Beau.”
“...Is it me?”
“No, schatz , it’s not you.”
The chill wind hit them when they stepped out of the shop. Unfortunately, the wind had picked up some as night drew closer. The festival was going to be outside. It wasn’t snowing, but it was certainly a few degrees colder than what was comfortable. Everyone was going to be dressed warmly if they wanted to enjoy the festivities for more than a few minutes. Despite the small, port town, Caleb was certain the festival would still draw a crowd. People didn’t care if it was heavy snow or blistering heat. Holidays brought a certain kind of determination out of people. Certain days were just special to people.
The thought made Caleb’s heart ache.
The feeling was chased away by Nott reaching up to hold Caleb’s hand. He looked down to find her already looking back up at him. She offered, “Do you need help? I already found my gift.”
“I think that would be cheating.”
“I won’t tell anyone.”
Caleb sighed and shook his head. “No. I’ll find something.”
Nott’s lip curled in annoyance. “Caleb, the festival starts at sunset.”
“I still have an hour.” Caleb glanced up at the sky before looking back down at her. “Go meet up with the others. I’ll catch up.”
Nott squinted. “And it’s not me?”
This time a smile reached Caleb’s face, small but still present nonetheless. Nott smiled back. She shook her head and let go of Caleb’s hand. “Okay but hurry. Just get anything. I don’t think anyone will mind.”
Caleb wrapped his coat tighter around himself as he watched his goblin companion scurry off down the street. The smile didn’t last long on his face. He reached a hand down into his pocket, crinkling the slip of paper kept there. He fidgeted with it before pulling it out and stretching it out in front of him. His stomach turned as he sucked in a deep breath that did little to ease him.
The slip of paper just said one word: Fjord.